Why cloud is king: the future of work depends on it

The pandemic has proven a strong catalyst for cloud adop­tion. Enforced lockdowns across the globe have forced organisa­tions, big and small, to accelerate their digitalisation strategies at pace. Cloud technology has quickly emerged as the “holy grail” for homeworking and, as we consider the future of work, it is clear that cloud’s supremacy has become securely established.

Distributed working is here to stay

Distributed hybrid-working will become permanent, even in hold­out industries such as contact centres, which previously stood defiantly as one of the last mill-style working environments.

All organisations will need to retain the agility of hybrid working in an uncertain future of changed expectations. In the contact centre, for example, it will no longer be enough to lash together tools and technologies every time operations are threatened with disruption – the tech needs to be already established in the cloud, with a workforce ready to roll in multiple locations.

Demand for distributed work­ing to continue is coming from two directions: from workers who, having tasted freedom, refuse to resume the chains of daily com­muting, and demand that employers continue to provide that flexibility, and from busi­nesses which have learned that employee experience and customer experience are intrinsically linked.

Customer experience is a stand­out winner from the trials of the pandemic, having emerged as the primary differentiator between businesses.

The so-called ordinary workers are revolting. They want the benefits of flexible location and hours that were previously the preserve of the select few. That means cloud technology, enabling flexible shift patterns, better work-life harmony – and improved customer satisfaction.

Integration for collaboration

An effective distributed workforce requires a range of internal col­laboration tools. An organisation’s external, consumer-facing com­munications tech needs to integrate with the internal-facing tools used around the wider organisation. Today’s cloud communications solutions integrate with the new office standards, Teams and Zoom, to promote a collaborative and informed workforce, wherever the individuals may be.

As innovation ramps up, and businesses future-proof their operations, cloud technology’s reign looks set to continue through 2021 and beyond – and the future of work depends on it.

For more information visit www.contentguru.com or contact us on info@contentguru.com